The Call-Up or National Service existed in Britain from 1947 until the 1960s; it was the only time that young men were expected to serve in the armed forces in peacetime after the end of the Second World War. For many young men, it was a traumatic and revolutionary time, giving them experiences, sights and emotions that they would otherwise never have seen or felt. It was a social experiment as much as anything else and there are men alive today who are able to comment on their experiences and to tell the story.

This will not be the case in twenty to thirty years’ time and The Call Up: A Study of National Service in Peacetime Britain, relying primarily on first-hand accounts, is an important addition to the fabric of the UK’s military history.